for his competitor. In 1915, the Medical Aid Society appointed Walter Conway as its secretary. The development of the society's work is attributed to the energy and commitment of Conway, who served as its secretary until his death in 1933. The Medical Society was already employing doctors under its Medical Supertendant, but it also went on to open offices and a dentists' and a central surgery. Expansion Conway enabled the Society to provide medical services to 20,000 local inhabitants. By 1925 the society purchased the redundant Palace cinema and converted it into an additional surgery, as well as establishing space for their own dental mechanic. The society employed Dr. A.J. Cronin, who depicted the Society in his novel The Citadel. There were similar societies in the South Wales valleys and in England. It was the model that Aneurin Bevan used for the National Health Service while he was Minister of Health in the post-war Labour government. Legacy By 1933 the Society was supplying the medical needs of 95% of the local population. The society employed five doctors, two dentists with a mechanic each, pharmacy dispensers and assistants, and a nurse. Not only did the society see to the medical expenses, but it also provided good wages and conditions for its staff. The doctors were allowed some private work, which again was a model followed within the National Health Service when it was established just over a decade after Conway died. In 1948, the society began to be a victim of its own success when Aneurin Bevan, who by then was not only the local MP but also the Minister of Health, launched the National Health Service. Demand for the Tredegar scheme fell when the NHS was launched, but the society still continued to fulfil what remained of its role. It tried for a while to continue to fund private care for its members, but abandoned this as unaffordable. In 1994 the society was wound up. It still had 114 members who were paid 18p each week towards their medical expenses. The society's remaining funds were contributed to the local hospital. References Further reading Dunn, Francis Gerard. 2022. A.J. Cronin’s career and fiction with specific reference The Citadel and the context of the foundation of the National Health Service. MPhil(R) thesis. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/82869/ 1873 establishments in Wales Friendly societies of the United Kingdom Tredegar 1994 disestablishments in Wales